Chapter 3 second quarter

Zhang Di, the Duaban of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, was an outstanding product in the officialdom during the political propaganda period, an activist who penetrated everywhere like mercury, a living treasure. Since he is an inner eunuch, physically, he is a man who has changed his shape, but a woman who has not yet changed his shape. He is neither male nor female, and he has no place between the two sexes.But this embarrassing, amphibious physical status did not prevent him from gaining great momentum in both the court and the government.The reason for this is that he was able to abide by the four important maxims in the officialdom and practice them without ambiguity.

Those four maxims are: Hold fast to those who are in power. We must resolutely kick those bad officials away. Be obsessed with remembering things that should be remembered. To forget things that should be forgotten without a trace. This seems simple enough, but since it has become a maxim, not every official can easily do it.Some officials are more or less ashamed, and they are unavoidable to be a little swaying when they are following the trend;The mistakes made by these two kinds of people do not seem to be very big, but they are incompatible with the principles of being an official.Zhang Di hated them deeply.One day, Liang Shicheng, a highly skilled moxibustor, asked Wang Xiaodi, a member of Zhongshushe, why he didn't grow a beard?Wang Xiaodi answered decisively: "I don't have anything, but I dare to have it?" This kind of flattery is in line with Zhang Di's taste, and this is the kind of person he likes.

There are still some officials in the officialdom who have very poor memory and sometimes forget things that should be kept in mind; on the contrary, some officials have a very good memory and just remember things that should be forgotten.Kaifuyi and the third division Li Yan used to be Yang Wei's subordinates, now Yang Wei has retreated to a place of idleness, Li Yanfei's prosperity has already passed over his head.Yang Wei wanted to rely on his old age to show off his old age, to show off his good memory, and to mention the old things in front of others, sometimes even in front of Li Yan.It's ridiculous that this Yang Wei, who was famous for his fickleness in the previous dynasty, was called "Yang Sanbian", but at the critical moment, he became ruthless, which meant that he would have to sit on the bench for life.

Compared with those unlucky officials, Zhang Di's advantages are so prominent. In addition to considering the issue from the perspective of absolute and pure interests, he almost squeezed out all the water in his body - human feelings, traditional moral concepts, people's arguments, etc., which are left over from which ancient world? The leftovers are stumbling blocks in my career, and I must eliminate them all! In addition, he also has the advantage of being close to the highest ruling layer. He can make correct judgments on who should be promoted and who can be suppressed, what is necessary and what is unnecessary, , He is sincere and has not reserved the topography in his words.His naked snobbery went so far as to be frank, that his varied facial expressions were like an animal mirror, in which one only had to look at to reveal his own poverty.At that time, he was recognized as a living record of nobles, a very precise and reliable political climate thermometer, and a well-rounded official—although his public identity was only the head of the inner prison, he had a lot of power. The latent power of the Communist Party of China is the behind-the-scenes matchmaker of several political groups.

When he saw with his own eyes today how favored Liu Kai was by the officials, he immediately convinced himself that he had always had a good impression of Liu Kai, and even flattered and fawned on him.It seems to him a physical need and physical enjoyment to flatter and curry favor with those who are favored by the government.Since he has obeyed the order of the government and appointed him as a guide, why didn't he lead this Liu Qi to the road of intimacy and friendship? He immediately sent two small internal eunuchs to the Tiansi prison to report the news, and set up a team here, surrounded by a group of small internal eunuchs, looking for an opportunity, he said with a smile:

"The Taiwei was honored with the honor today, and the sage is extraordinary. It is also an honor for our family to be able to follow and serve!" This is a sweet introduction to medicine, and then it can lead to a lot of good words. He himself has always taken these good words as ginseng, velvet antler and other supplements to make him fat. They did not cause him indigestion.He judged others by himself, and believed that Liu Qi must have the same interest, so he put on a posture of giving people a tonic, waiting to receive the reward.Unexpectedly, Liu Kai just replied indifferently:

"Liu was rewarded for nothing, so what kind of honor is there?" "The Taiwei is too modest. In recent days, the officials have been worried and frowning about the matter of the Liao expedition. Today, when the Taiwei came, the officials were very happy, and the honors were awarded repeatedly, and they will be given important tasks. It is not God Great news!" This was not only flattery, but also meant to ask for news from the gossip, so Liu Qi simply ignored him.Only then did Zhang Di realize that the road was blocked, so he had to change the topic and say: "Last night, the handsome Gao Dian invited Xiang's son-in-law to a banquet. There were a lot of distinguished guests, and there were thirty or forty girls from Dongjier Lane and Xijier Lane. It was so lively! Both Xiang and Cao's son-in-law asked about it many times. , why don't you see the Taiwei arrive?"

"So that's the case. Liu had some trivial matters last night, but he never got there." This was another solid cold gnocchi, Zhang Di had no choice but to straighten his neck and swallow it hard. After the two walked for a while in silence, Zhang Di came up with a good topic again: "I think back then, before the Taiwei served in Tokyo in the future, all the good horses that paid tribute from all over the world were in charge of the shepherds of the Taipu Temple. Now the horses used by the forbidden army are selected by the Western Army to save many transfers. It's just the Taipu Temple If you really become an idler, officials big and small can only eat dry food and accept requests, but the imperial court feeds them for nothing."

The speech involved Liu Kai's business, and the last sentence was a little bit aggrieved for the court, so Liu Kai's expression was a little more cheerful.Zhang Di took the opportunity to expand his achievements and continued: "Nowadays, the herdsmen are deserted and desolate. It's so frightening! On the contrary, there are indeed a hundred good horses in the Tiansi Prison, and three or two hundred small inner guards are used to serve them. After all, the Tianjia stables are extraordinary. The Taiwei is Contemporary Bole. These famous men have to be appraised and judged by the Taiwei before they can be worth a hundred times!"

"What can I save?" Some of the horses in the Tiansi Prison were still picked from the Western Army, and most of them passed through the hands of Liu Kai. He also wanted to have a look, so he said humbly, "stop for a while and go to the inner stables. When you visit, you have to worry about the internal guidance." "It's right, it's right! The Taiwei wants to visit the inner stables, and it's all covered by our family. It's ridiculous that Mr. Tan, the supervisor of Tiansi, is in charge of this job. He only knows how to taste wine and order food all day long. How can our family be right? Are these royal horses good?" Then he began to talk endlessly like a river that has burst its banks.Pointing to an empty field in the palace garden, he said, "The Taiwei looked at that polo field. Unfortunately, it was winter, so it was idle and no one used it. Otherwise, our family will accompany the Taiwei to go in and have a look. The horses in the inner court The ball exercise is wonderful! Not to mention anything else, just those official concubines, all of them got rid of their internal makeup, put on a set of narrow and elegant riding clothes, and sat sideways on Xiaoli On the horse, chasing small balls. Sometimes they even practice riding and shooting projectiles. Glowing silver bells are tinkling on the arrow path. Isn’t this scene a magnificent picture of "Palace Trial Riding Picture"?"

When Zhang Di spoke nonchalantly, he suddenly turned his head and looked left and right, waved his hand to signal the little eunuch to go further, lowered his voice, and continued secretly: "Does the Taiwei know that it's not just the court ladies who play polo here? The noble concubines and imperial concubines also play this. The noble concubine Xiao Qiao and the birth mother of the emperor's ninth son Kang Wang are all born on this polo." It was only when the officials made their fortunes, and now the officials still want them to gallop. Empress Rongde's riding skills are number one in the palace, and no ordinary man can compare to her. She and Concubine Cao compete on the arrow track here When getting up on the horse, the son-in-law always falls behind and throws somersaults. It is for this reason that the son-in-law Cao also serves as the commander of the horse army. The official said that Cao Sheng should go to the army commander of the horse to practice riding for three years before meeting with my son-in-law. Daughter races horses. I once joked that this job should be done by my beloved daughter. It is considered suitable for human beings, and she is much better than her man! Who knows that it is almost the same, and Empress Rongde is the colleague of the Taiwei. .” According to Zhang Di's thinking, every piece of news and anecdotes about the court revealed by the eunuchs is a valuable gift. Now he talks about Concubine Xiao Qiao, Concubine Wei, and the secret history of Empress Rongde and Cao Sheng. All these are of paramount importance to Liu, who is in charge of the Ma Jun Division. He, Zhang Di, has to choose someone's head before he is willing to give this gift. But from Liu Kai's calm facial expression, he couldn't tell whether he was interested in these news at all, and whether he was a beneficiary who knew the goods and interests. The inmates in the pavilion of Tiansi Supervisor were notified and greeted Liu Qi at the gate early.Only the boss, Tan Zhen, was not at home.Tan Zhen had so many errands in his body, and he couldn't figure out what errands and what errands. In addition, he was busy going to wine and banquets everywhere, so it was rare for him to come to Tiansi Supervisor for a few days.Some people jealously said that he was full of food after taking these jobs, no wonder he was like a tall horse full of oil and water.He said: "Others still eat up the salaries of the three yamen and eight hundred thousand forbidden soldiers!"He just eats some horse food, what is it, not to mention the royal horses in the stables are well-fed and fat, how can he be sorry for the officials? Zhang Di really fulfilled his promise. Once he entered the Tianshang, he first accompanied Liu Qi to see a stable with a jade plaque on the door and three gold characters "Eight Steeds" embedded in the jade plaque.The stables of the Tian family have an extraordinary atmosphere, not to mention that this "Eight Steeds Map" is second to none among the imperial stables.The so-called "eight horses" are eight purebred white horses specially selected and presented as tribute.They are tall, short, fat, bright and radiant in color, and even the appearance of their faces is very similar. Now with artificial grooming and modification, they look more like they were born of the same mother.The officials personally named them after Zhou Muwang's Eight Horses, and specially made jade plaques and hung them around their necks. Without this logo, it would be difficult to identify them one by one. They went to see another stable called "Five Dragons".There are five famous horses of different colors, each with a beautiful name, the white one is called "Xue Qi", the black one is called "Tie Li", and the blue one is called "Bi Cong". The red-and-white ones are called "jade 騢", and the yellow-black ones are called "Yu 騧".The colors of the horses themselves and the well-coordinated brocade draped on them give people a feeling of fascination. Regardless of the eight steeds, the five dragons, or other imperial horses, they are all the proud sons of the livestock, the nobles of the livestock, and live in a pampered environment.They kicked their hoofs lazily, sneezed delicately, and sometimes pulled the skin on their backs angrily, flicked their tails, and ordered the little eunuch who trained the horses to scratch their itchy backs.Here not only the small eunuchs are their servants, but even the senior eunuchs with duties have to wait on them, taking their joy and anger as their joy and anger. These delicate royal horses only raise their heads and ears when they see strangers coming in. The ground hissed a few times, showing the spirit of "a heavenly horse is not the same as an ordinary horse". Zhang Di rejected all the speeches of the inner eunuchs, and monopolized the right to introduce Yuma alone.He did not exaggerate when he said that he was familiar with royal horses.He can almost recite the pedigree, race, origin, own experience, encounters and various characteristics of most of the imperial horses.He said that this "Jade Concubine" was ridden by Concubine Xiao Qiao for several years, and was about to be released. Later, the officials kept it because of nostalgia, and placed it among the "Five Dragons".He also said that the "Chasing the Wind", the leader of the eight horses, has a purple spot on his forehead, which is said to be a characteristic of noble breeds in the "Xiang Ma Jing", and it has indeed achieved a superior status.Then he lamented that the horses also suffered from being poor and prosperous. Here, there are three parts of God's will and seven parts of human affairs, as if they are also listed in his "Jin Gentleman Records". In particular, he guided Liu Kai to see a horse mule named "鹁鹆青". In the early years, the official family often rode a black horse called "Xiaowu", because it was connected with a private life of the official family, so it was particularly loved.But after all, time does not spare people (horses), and it has finally reached the age when it has to retreat into the cold palace, and now it has given way to this young horse. He Qing and Zhang Di have known each other for several years.They greeted each other in their own way.From the movement of Zhang Di lovingly patting its buttocks, Wu Yuqing developed a prejudice against the whole human being.I think that the most important task for people to live in the world is to give it some "tonic".Sure enough, it heard Zhang Di introduce it in high-level language: "This horse is the treasure in the heart of the officials. It travels thousands of miles a day and eight hundred nights, with a speed beyond light and beyond shadows, and there is no trace of shocking dust and mud. It can be regarded as a dragon species in the sky, and a masterpiece in the world It took three or four years for Taishi Tong to find it, and hurriedly entered the palace. The Taiwei should appreciate it carefully, so it is worthwhile to come to the imperial stables today." Although Yuqin hasn't learned human language yet, it fully understands Zhang Di's expression and tone. It shakes its long ears again and again, expressing its absolute agreement with his introduction.This kind of air of both Yu Qing and Zhang Di.In the officialdom, when an upstart is introduced to others, it can often be seen. Then Zhang Di accompanied Liu Qi to see the little horse named "騕褭" that Empress Zheng rode in the palace. It got this beautiful name because of its graceful figure and light body.But the saint has gotten a little fat in the past two years.Too lazy to ride.Even this "騕褭" doesn't look so slender anymore. Although Zhang Di's introduction is brilliant and perfect, Liu Kai, who was born as a cavalry officer, has his own appreciation and evaluation.He could tell that most of these imperial horses came from Saishang and Hehuang areas.Generally, they have a good background and a sound quality. They also drove the battlefield back then and carried a heavy load to a long distance. They are indeed extraordinary.It's a pity that as soon as they entered the imperial stables, they received excessive care, got used to a pampered life, and compressed the world of activities into the small confines of Tiansi Prison, which caused them to undergo qualitative changes.They are losing their original vigorous spirit and abundant vitality more and more, but they are stained with the style of dandy.Don't think that they still have a dignified look on the surface, but in fact they are already ostentatious and can't be used for any serious use.In a word, these royal horses rolling in the stables have fallen into the sad state of being mere court decorations. Liu Kai, who is not only good at knowing horses but also loves horses, has infinite emotion. He strongly realizes that taming horses in this way is actually the biggest waste of good horses.But he immediately understood that it was inappropriate to express such criticism of court life in front of the eunuchs at this time and place.He suppressed his thoughts, and then picked an inconspicuous white horse from the stables.It also has a good name for the occasion, called "Jade Suanni".He picked it because he saw something wild and untamed in it.On a whim, he took off his burqa and tried riding on the arrow path.Although he controlled himself not to let go of the rein and run, the vigorous movements and pleasing figure of a well-trained cavalry officer were still unconsciously revealed.Zhang Di, who was watching from the sidelines, couldn't stop slapping his thighs, praising Liu Taiwei's superb riding skills: "Today is an eye-opener for our family. The little whirlwind performed in the 'Ban of Thorns' has caused a sensation in half of Tokyo City. How can there be Taiwei's skills?" Accepting the reward from the official family involved a series of extremely heavy ceremonies. Liu Kai returned to the front hall, and finally waited until the first hour of the unitary year to see the inner eunuchs dressing up the jade dragons according to the specifications of the royal horses bestowed by the emperor.It was covered with brocade, with red flowers on its head, and a pair of eight-treasure saddle bridle for the imperial use. Then it surrounded Liu Kai and slowly turned back home, obviously wanting him to fully enjoy this reward on the way home. It is a great honor to be bestowed by the emperor. Liu Kai has long been familiar with this set of red tape in the inner court to the point where he is tired and disgusted.At this time, the city of Tokyo was already lit up, and pedestrians were like weaving.Liu Qi rode on the horse.He tried his best to avoid the admiring gazes of the passers-by who flocked to him, hoping to pass through the lively Zhouqiao Street and Fuqian Street as soon as possible, and take a relatively secluded road to go home and rest.However, the eunuchs who had been repeatedly instructed by Zhang Di refused to give him this freedom.The more they were on the bustling streets, the more they had to slow down their pace. Several hands wrapped around the horse's head at the same time, and put the imperial horse and the glorious rider on the streets of Tokyo to show off to the public. Someone gave a thumbs up and cheered loudly: "Yes!" Countless passers-by were attracted, responded to the applause, praised loudly, and narrowed the encirclement to such an extent that it was difficult for them to move.The inner prisoner yelled and waved the whip in his hand, trying to drive the pedestrians away.People got together and dispersed, scattered and reunited several times, but they were still surrounded in this small flowing circle. At this time, Liu Kai suddenly thought that he was unlucky and became the object of public display.There is nothing more hideous and shameful than this.He frowned and waved his hands, as if trying to get the disgusting thought out of his head, and then another thought rushed into his head like a torrent, which he had just been in the inner stable. Thoughts that have been thought of and suppressed, but at this moment, they are poured into his heart at such an inappropriate time.He linked his fate with that of the pampered horses. He thought that although these imperial horses were fed with powder made of pearls, they were actually decorations in the palace. The appearance is nothing more than some decorations in the palace, and he himself, a man who is drinking wine, has been going in and out of the palace since he came to Tokyo, doing some decent errands for the official family, no matter at this moment in State Bridge Street. Riding a royal horse on the street to show the public is actually nothing more than a palace decoration. The imperial court painstakingly selected four soldiers with tall stature and dignified beards from among the forbidden army.Whenever there is a great court meeting, they will stand in the four corners of the main hall with their helmets on their armor and symbolic weapons made of gold and silver in their hands, and they are called "the generals who guard the hall".Liu Qi felt painfully that the commanders of the four chambers of the horse army and dragon guards in his own body were just like these "generals", and they were just decorations in the court. He was very moved by this.

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